The Detroit Lions, who have not lost back-to-back games in years, kept that streak alive on Sunday in a 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders.
There are many players who should get a game ball for their performances in this win, but one group in particular played at a high level despite injuries and personnel changes this week.
Game ball: The offensive line
Last week against Minnesota, this offensive line struggled. Jared Goff was sacked five times and the run game could not get going despite Detroit having two of the best backs in the league in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. To add insult to literal injury, Detroit lost left guard Christian Mahogany to a broken ankle and Penei Sewell, Tate Ratledge, and Taylor Decker all missed some snaps due to varying ailments.
With Kayode Awosika in for Mahogany against Washington and the other four starters back and healthy, Detroit’s offensive line was dominant in this matchup.
In pass protection, they played a near perfect game. Jared Goff finished the game without being sacked and only took five hits all afternoon. The Lions’ passing game was electric, with Goff completing 25 of 33 passes for 320 yards and three scores.
In the run game, this unit made huge strides, given how poorly they did the week before. Detroit put up 226 yards on the ground, including two touchdowns from Gibbs. One of the most impressive stats on the game was the fact that Washington did not record a single tackle-for-loss. While there is not easily accessible data on how many times that has happened in league history, it seems like this might be a historic stat for Detroit given that TFLs are a common part of the game.
Detroit’s line still suffered a few injuries in this game. Sewell had to miss some snaps with Dan Skipper going in to replace him. Trystan Colon subbed in for Graham Glasgow at center for a little bit as well. Once the game was about finished with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, the backups came in and still managed to finish the game without a sack or TFL allowed.
It should also be commended that the entire offensive line unit finished this game with zero penalties. Another big change from what we saw in their previous game against Minnesota.
Honorable mention: Dan Campbell
It says a lot about a head coach that their team doesn’t lose two games in a row, ever. The man that runs his program with the word “grit” as their slogan has a team that plays with a ton of it.
Campbell took over the offensive playcalling from coordinator John Morton, and the offense put up 546 total yards. While it’s unclear if that change will be permanent, similar to the Anthony Lynn situation in Campbell’s first season as head coach, but it’s clear that he’s able to command the offense while still handling his other duties as the leader of the Lions.
What stood out most was how much the ball was spread around under his play calling. Jameson Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Kalif Raymond, Isaac TeSlaa, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, and Sione Vaki all got touches on offense in this game. With so many weapons at his disposal, it’s hard for opposing defenses to cover such a diverse and versatile offense.
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